City anniversary kicked off on high note, says Mayor Pro Tem Paul Foster

REDLANDS - The city's 125th anniversary is in full swing, with the yearlong celebration officially kicking off earlier this month with the Redlands Christmas Parade.

With the parade, organizers asked participants to decorate floats surrounding milestones during the city's history - Redlands was founded in 1888 - on display as they walked, biked or drove the route.

Joining in on the fun were members of the City Council, including Mayor Pro Tem Paul Foster who is leading a committee to structure events around the milestone.

New events have been created to honor the city's birthday, and annual events will incorporate the celebration.

Foster and his team have had several meetings to discuss plans.

He said plans have been coming along with the community's support.

"(Planning has been) very gratifying, because of the contributions the community have made to make this possible. No one person can do this," he said. "There are some great ideas that we came up with, but without a great committee and community to make this happen, it wouldn't."

Events are planned throughout November 2013. Among the list include a Redlands Remembered event for Jan. 28, a presentation on early Redlands architecture on Feb. 27, and a Thanksgiving dinner on State Street on Nov. 2.

Several other events have not yet been set, Foster said. They include a community music event with the YMCA, one or two concerts themed around the celebration during the summer Redlands Bowl season and additional events spearheaded by the Redlands Historical Society.

"We are not asking for people to create new things, but groups that exist currently incorporate the anniversary in what they'll do, and we're hoping they do," Foster said.

Oral history presentations are being shot and aired on Redlands TV, as well as YouTube and through stories written by Redlands Daily Facts editor Toni Momberger.

The committee was also presented with a $10,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente that will be used to produce a video history of the city. Once completed, it will be maintained and housed in the Heritage Room at A.K. Smiley Public Library, Foster said.

Additional meetings will be held to determine the dates of remaining events that have yet to be scheduled.

As for the Christmas Parade, held Dec. 1, Foster called the event a kickoff that was appreciated.

"I think it was really fun," he said. "Despite the weather, there was one of the biggest crowds in attendance. Many of the entries included `Happy Birthday, Redlands' in their floats, and I was really impressed with the Krikorian float that featured an anniversary theme, citrus labels and it was really nicely done.

"I was really happy with how the anniversary was themed in their entry into the parade ... and my fellow council members were dressed in period costumes doing our part. It was a fun thing to do," Foster said. "It was a good kick-off and nice to see that where Neal (Waner) and Martha (Green) were videotaping they had the anniversary logo behind them."